Out of the mouths of babes

Yesterday, after work, Karl was playing with Emma. She asked him to have a tea party with her. They tried sitting at her little table with her little chairs....sorry, but Karl is not quite small enough to fit in toddler-sized chairs! So, he proceeded to sit on the bottom step of our stairs that lead to the second story, since it was right next to the table. Well, Emma then proceeded to get her tea cup, walk over to the other side of the stairs, and sit down to 'tea'. It was too funny...we had to tell her to come back to the table and explain why Daddy was on the step. :)

Moments later, never having had a 'tea party' before (and not realizing this was poor tea party etiquette), Karl was playing with the Velcro on the wooden apple Emma had given him as a snack. Emma looks up quickly and says, "No Daddy, don't play with your food!" I wonder if maybe she's heard that before?

Our house-cleaning adventures...

Our weekend was great! Well, after a rough start it was....I traveled up the turnpike, as we usually do, but was unaware that it had been closed for a 14 mile stretch due to a fire. So, about half-way to our exit we came to a standstill. We got to sit in traffic for about an hour, traveling about 2 miles in that time. It was quite stressful, mostly because other drivers get impatient, go around on the right....then cut back in up ahead when they find out they can't actually get around....thus causing me to have to wait that much longer. Overall, it wasn't too bad. I had a migraine by the time we arrived at Karl's parents' home, but Excedrin Migraine took care of that pretty quickly. The kids did well.....though we did have to make a stop at the first rest area we came to after exiting, for a potty break. :) Once we got to my in-laws' house, we were able to have dinner, get the kids settled in, then Karl and I headed to our house to clean up. We met with the realtor at 10 am on Saturday, had the house listed immediately, and got our first 'lookers' that afternoon. We did some touch-up painting, sweeping and mopping, some minor repairs, and a few light bulb replacements. We also ordered a new dishwasher, since the old one is really old and does not work. It will be installed on Wednesday. Saturday evening we had a nice dinner out, then went to a movie. It was great to be able to do that, knowing the kids were well-cared-for and having a great time with their grandparents. Sunday morning we had a late breakfast at our favorite pancake house, picked up a few groceries, and then heard from the realtor that we had another potential buyer stopping in at 2 pm. We were still working at the house but stepped outside when they arrived, to allow them to look at their leisure and in private. We traveled back home Sunday evening (the kids and I...Karl had to work there on Monday and pick up some things from the house). Karl got another call Monday from the realtor......yep, 2 more showings that day. And an offer.

We were discussing this morning how we wanted to handle the offer....when Karl spoke with the realtor and learned that we had a second offer. Let the bidding wars begin! Actually, we have already accepted an offer (we ended up with asking price when the first family found out there was another offer on the table) and signed paperwork, so as long as nothing happens we will close in about a month. I am amazed at how quickly it all happened. We priced the house aggressively....and it paid off! We will only have to make one, maybe two, of our mortgage payments before the new family takes over. That is a huge blessing! I am so thankful for God's provision. I am a little sad to be selling.....we have 8 years of memories in that house......but I do realize it is best.

A weekend to ourselves...

We're packing today. The kids will be staying with their grandparents while Karl and I head to our house in Palm Bay. The renters moved out while we were on vacation so we're gonna go clean up, do repairs, etc. We are meeting a realtor on Saturday morning so he/she can look at the house, we can set a price, and hopefully get it sold quickly. Please pray for my in-laws. They are very capable and I'm sure they will have a great time with the kids, but 5 children is a lot and extra prayer is always helpful! :) Thank you Ron and Pearl for being willing to have them in your home so we can go do this. It will be a working weekend, but it will also be some very welcome time away.

Saturday Confessions......5

1. I'm doing Saturday Confessions early because I won't have Internet access on Saturday.

2. I'm stressing over my husband's job....is that weird?

3. I do not enjoy getting up before 7 a.m., yet it is the only time I get completely to myself so I do kind of like it.

4. Today I read Proverbs 23......it was enlightening.

5. I am reading House Rules by Jodi Picoult....it's really good.......I'm almost done and really don't want to be. Do you ever feel that way about a book?

6. My baby is in 9 month sizes now....I really don't know where the time went....how can she be approaching 1 year already?

7. I almost always end my 'confessions' on #7......why is that, ya think?

Showing compassion....

As you may have noticed, I have an 'ad' for Compassion International on my sidebar. In February, we began sponsoring a child through them. He is 7 and lives in Nicaragua. For $38 I help provide for him....schooling, meals, etc. I have already received 2 letters from him, which I love! I have been able to write to him as well, and a great thing about their site is that sponsors have the option to send a letter via email. The translators still print it out and then hand write the translation, but it is so easy to just write it up online and press send. I have done that twice, and I also make my payments online......you can set it up to be an automated debit if you like. Please check out the web site. It really is a worthy cause, truly helping so many children. You will be able to choose which child you would like to sponsor.....there are pictures with their names and information about them to help you decide. It has been a very rewarding experience for me already, being able to show the love of Christ and meeting some of his practical needs as well. Take a look.